Act One

On Enterprise, CommanderTrip Tucker mulls his options for shore leave – with his hometown in Florida destroyed, he has nowhere to go. T'Pol invites him to join her on a trip to Vulcan, which she hasn't visited in many years; Tucker accepts, leaving to pack his bags.

Archer visits Hernandez aboard her vessel, still being prepared for its maiden voyage. He recommends she make several changes to the ship before leaving, based on his starship experience. Archer notes the ship's new weapons upgrades, recalling how he once naively opposed weapons on Enterprise, as they might deter from any first contact missions.

As Archer is debriefed by Starfleet Command and the Vulcan High Command, the topic drifts to the trellium-infected Vulcan ship Seleyaencountered by Enterprise in the Expanse. When AmbassadorSoval insinuates that Archer destroyed the vessel without doing enough to help the delusional crew, Archer becomes outraged, blaming the High Command for not providing enough assistance in their mission, saying that he received more help from the Andorians than from the Vulcans. AdmiralForrest angrily orders Archer to take some time off to clear his mind.

Back on Enterprise, DoctorPhlox, toting a large array of travel bags for his vacation on Earth, is warned by LieutenantMalcolm Reed about the heightened level of xenophobia on Earth in the aftermath of the Xindi attack; Phlox dismisses the warnings and continues to the surface.

Act Two

Arriving on Vulcan, T'Pol leads Tucker into the house where she grew up. Her mother T'Les greets them, surprised to see that T'Pol has brought a guest – a Human guest, moreover. She informs T'Pol that she has "retired" from her teaching position at the Science Academy. She also shows T'Pol a letter from Koss, T'Pol's fiancée since childhood; however, much to her mother's chagrin, T'Pol expresses no interest in seeing Koss.

High up in the hills, Archer and Hernandez discuss Starfleet politics, personnel issues, and encounters made by Enterprise in the past three years. Herself eager to explore the galaxy, Hernandez finds Archer a significantly changed man, not as "gung ho" about space exploration as he once was.

Early the next morning, T'Pol awakens Tucker at four o'clock so that they, as guests in the household, can prepare the morning meal (another Vulcan tradition). While eating, T'Les is unhappy with many of the changes she notices in her daughter, such as T'Pol's unwillingness to marry Koss as well as her plans to join Starfleet.

In a bar on Earth, crewmates Reed, EnsignTravis Mayweather and Phlox enjoy their new-found celebrity, until they are confronted by a nasty bar patron exhibiting the very xenophobia they had heard of. When the man strongly urges Phlox to leave the establishment, Reed and Mayweather come to their friend's defense; a brawl ensues. During the fight, Phlox expands his face to three times its normal size, an instinctive defensive posture (much like a puffer fish in Earth's seas), scaring away the troublemakers. Afterward, Phlox calmly munches on a pretzel.

Act Three

T'Les confronts Trip about being in love with her daughter, a point he reluctantly concedes. As he adjusts a field generator to fix T'Les' replicator, Trip answers a knock on the front door; it is Koss, asking to speak to T'Pol. When alone with T'Pol, Koss expresses his interest in going forward with the marriage, for traditional reasons more than anything else. T'Pol tries desperately to dissuade him, hinting at her "sickness" (either Pa'nar Syndrome or Trellium poisoning), even suggesting the kal-if-fee, a fight to the death – to no avail. Koss tells T'Pol that if she goes forward with their marriage, he will have T'Les reinstated at the Science Academy, hinting that her retirement wasn't voluntary.

When T'Pol asks her mother about the circumstances of her retirement, T'Les reveals that she retired to halt an inquiry into her alleged criminal behavior; the trumped up charges were retribution for T'Pol's actions on P'Jem, which resulted in the destruction of a Vulcan monastery. Since T'Pol was aboard Enterprise and untouchable, the Vulcan High Command punished her mother T'Les instead.

Back in the mountains, Archer has a frightening dream, in which he is attacked on the mountainside by Xindi-Reptilians. Awakening with a start, he bares his feelings of uncertainty about his mission and his purpose in life. Hernandez offers to help, kissing Archer, and rekindling their romance.

Act Four

T'Pol gives Tucker a tour of a Vulcan lava field, which resembles Earth's Grand Canyon, yet with giant statues ringing the valley. She tells him of her plans to go forward with the marriage to Koss in order to restore her mother's position; Tucker angrily storms off.

Back on Enterprise, Phlox informs Hoshi Sato that the Xindi neural parasites are almost completely gone from her brain. To celebrate, she invites him to Madame Chang's for their famous egg drop soup, but he pretends to be too busy caring for an ailing osmotic eel. Having spoken to Mayweather about the bar fight, she knows the true cause of his reluctance to return to the planet's surface. She urges him to stand up to the prejudice; when he sadly declines to join her, she promises to bring him take-out.

Once Archer and Hernandez return from their climbing trip, Archer continues the debriefing at Starfleet Headquarters. After it is concluded, he apologizes to Soval for his prior outburst. Soval, who opposed Archer's appointment to Enterprise, now acknowledges that he was in error; while some of the captain's actions were morally questionable, he argues, they were necessary to save Earth, as well as Vulcan. Remarkably out of character (for a Vulcan), Soval thanks Archer, shaking his hand in friendship.

T'Pol and Koss' wedding ceremony

Tucker has donned T'Pol's father's Vulcan attire for the wedding ceremony. At the last minute, T'Les urges Tucker to divulge his true feelings to her daughter; Tucker declines, reasoning that T'Pol already has enough pressure on her as it is. Stunned at his selflessness (which reveals the depth of his love), T'Les walks away, wondering herself if T'Pol is really doing the right thing or not. Arriving at the ceremony, Tucker compliments T'Pol on her beautiful purple wedding gown; kissing him delicately on the cheek, she proceeds to the ceremony.

Memorable Quotes

"I've been told that people are calling us heroes. When it comes to my crew, you won't get any argument from me. But I think it's important that we remember the heroes who aren't with us – the twenty-seven crewmen who didn't make it back. Without their sacrifice, I wouldn't be standing here right now. None of us would. But I'm sure I speak on behalf of my entire crew when I say... it's good to be home."

- Captain Archer's address before the crowd at their "Welcome Home" ceremony

"I had an argument once with Captain Jefferies. He was one of the designers of the NX-Class."
"I'm aware of that."
"I told him I didn't want to be in command of a warship trying to make first contact with new species. Jefferies was right. We needed those weapons... and a hell of a lot more."

"You did everything you could to sabotage our mission. I got more help from the Andorians than I ever got from the High Command. This planet would be a cloud of dust right now if we'd listened to you!"

- Archer, to Soval, responding to insinuations that he was negligent in dealing with the crew of the Seleya

"There's more to life than one's profession. Perhaps you'll learn that one day."

- T'Les, to T'Pol

"Things have changed since Enterprise left spacedock. You'll spend a lot of your time boldly going into battle."

- Jonathan Archer, to Erika Hernandez

"If we weren't out there stirring up trouble, seven million people might still be alive."
"You weren't stirring up trouble. You were exploring."
"I'm not sure there's much of a difference."
"What do you suggest? Put our starships in mothballs?"
"No, we need them. But look at the Vulcans. They're not explorers. They keep their ships close to home. Never know who's going to come calling."
"That's not the mission either one of us signed up for."
"Maybe you'll feel differently after you've delivered a few dozen eulogies."

- Archer and Hernandez

"Are you all right?"
"I'm not even sure what 'all right' means anymore."

- Hernandez and Archer

"I look at you and I see the person I was three years ago – the explorer that my father wanted me to be. I lost something out there. I don't know how to get it back."

- Archer, to Hernandez

"I'm sorry."
"You're sorry? You brought me sixteen light years just to watch you get married to someone you barely know."

- T'Pol and Trip Tucker

"Ambassador... I want to apologize for what I said to you the other day. I was out of line."
"Yes, you were."
"I'm glad we can finally agree on something."

- Archer and Soval

"Captain... Your actions, while being morally questionable, were necessary. I opposed your appointment as captain of Enterprise, but it's obvious now that I was wrong. T'Pol has told me that the Expanse would have someday encompassed hundreds of systems, including Vulcan. You've done a great service for both our worlds. Thank you."

- Soval, to Archer

"What ye are about to witness comes down from the time of the beginning without change. This is the Vulcan heart. This is the Vulcan soul. This is our way."

- Vulcan priest, at T'Pol's wedding

Background Information

The final draft of this episode's script was submitted on 5 October2004.

This episode introduces the theme of xenophobic Humans later seen in "Demons" and "Terra Prime".

This is the first time since VOY: "Endgame" that a female starship captain has appeared on Star Trek.

Episode writer Mike Sussman had hoped to finally establish in dialog that the planet Vulcan orbits 40 Eridani, a long-held supposition among Star Trek fans (Gene Roddenberry himself was said to have endorsed the idea). The closest Sussman was able to come to this was Tucker's line to T'Pol: "You brought me sixteen light years just to watch you get married to someone you barely know." (40 Eridani is approximately 16 light years from Earth). Curiously, Sussman's production entity is named "40 Eridani."

Phlox blowing up his face

This episode marks the first and only time that Phlox puffs up his face like a blowfish. This is a defense mechanism that is apparently instinctive to Denobulans.

T'Pol threatens to declare the kal-if-fee when her betrothed, Koss, informs her that he intends to go through with their prearranged marriage. Koss responds by suggesting that T'Pol's "Human friend" Trip Tucker might make a suitable challenger. In TOS: "Amok Time", T'Pring, a Vulcan woman bethrothed to Spock, does declare the kal-if-fee with Spock's "Human friend" CaptainJames T. Kirk as the challenger. "Amok Time" was the first Star Trek episode to visit the planet Vulcan.

This is the only episode of Star Trek: Enterprise's 4th Season in which Xindi appear, albeit only as a dream sequence.

This episode is very similar to the TNG Season 4 episode "Family"; both episodes use the crew's family and/or personal relationships to explore the repercussions of a recent traumatic event.

Archer's line "You'll spend a lot of your time boldly going into battle" seems to be a reference to the famous opening narrations from Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Ironically, the last line of this entire series is "to boldly go where no man has gone before," and it was also spoken by Captain Archer.

At one point, Hernandez states she is "not sure how [she] feel[s] about a military officer on the bridge." which seems to indicate that Starfleet, at least in pre-Federation times, is not considered to be a military organization. This lines up with a similar comment made by AdmiralMaxwell Forrest in ENT: "The Expanse".

Archer reveals that 27 crew members died in the Expanse.

During the bar scene in the conversation between Archer and Captain Hernandez, Archer asks her if she has seen any good movies when they were gone. Captain Hernandez replies "another World War III epic, swept all of the awards..." which could imply that a big award giving body, like the Oscars, still exists in Archer's time.

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